IPL 2019: Strongest Possible Eleven for Mumbai Indians
Like every other edition, the excitement for Indian Premier League 2019 has begun. The auction table is where the strategies evolve and teams plan the pathway to the new edition.
The return of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the previous edition of IPL has added that old flair to the lucrative league. The auction for IPL 2019 got underway in Jaipur on December 18.
The uncertainty in the venue of the upcoming IPL edition made this auction even more important from a strategic point of view.
Each franchise had their core team sorted and was on the lookout for missing pieces to make the team complete.
The auction began on a good note where Delhi Capitals made their first purchase in Hanuma Vihari for two Crore.
Soon West Indian players made their presence felt as Carlos Brathwaite, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran were sold to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) respectively.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) made strategic buys in the form of Jonny Bairstow, Martin Guptill, and Wriddhiman Saha.
But it was Jaydev Unadkat, uncapped Varun Chakravarthy, and England teen sensation Sam Curran who were the major highlights of 2019 auction. Three-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) vested more faith in their old guns along with the new talents. Buying back the yorker king Lasith Malinga just adds to the earlier statement.
This is the strongest possible playing eleven for Mumbai Indians for the upcoming season.
#1 Evin Lewis
The left-handed explosive batsman from Trinidad- Evin Lewis is a must have a player when it comes to shorter formats. Nicknamed as 'Junior Gayle', he made his T20I debut for West Indies in the year 2016 against Afghanistan.
Later, Lewis scored a swashbuckling century against India in the first match of the series in the USA in just 48 balls.
A year later, when he played against India he smashed an unbeaten 125 while chasing. His hard-hitting ability made him a player to watch out in the IPL auction. He was roped in by Mumbai Indians for a whopping 3.8 Crore rupees for 2018 edition.
Lewis has played 17 T20 matches, has an admirable average of 33 and an impressive strike rate of 157!
He has played 13 matches for MI in the 2018 edition and scored 382 runs at a healthy average of 29.
Now that Mumbai Indians have retained him for the next season, Lewis surely will start as an opener for the Mumbai Paltan.